Now Jamie tackles a student of the game
JAMIE GEORGE will aim to put England’s calamitous Six Nations campaign behind him by going head-to-head with a full-time student when Saracens face Richmond tomorrow. The 30-year-old Lions hooker will go from the searing intensity of Test rugby to a personal debut in the Greene King IPA Championship. George was on duty for his country at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin last Saturday, but his first club appearance since October 4 will take place in the relatively modest surroundings of the Athletic Ground, Richmond. While Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Billy and Mako Vunipola and Elliot Daly are rested by Saracens for a game they are certain to win, George will reinforce the promotion quest which suffered a false start with defeat by Cornish Pirates in Penzance on opening weekend. He will be up against an unfamiliar opposite number — Richmond hooker Callum Torpey, who is studying planning and property management at Oxford Brookes University. It will be a grand occasion for Torpey and all the home club’s part-timers, who are locking horns with recent domestic and European champions. As well as George, Saracens have recalled Scotland wing Sean Maitland as a replacement, and their starting XV also features South Africa’s World Cup-winning prop Vincent Koch and Scotland centre Duncan Taylor. Mark McCall is set to deploy the rest of his England contingent in the coming weeks as Saracens host Bedford before a trip to Doncaster, followed by a home showdown with leading rivals Ealing Trailfinders. Director of rugby McCall is pleased to have so many senior men available again with Saracens facing more of a challenge in the league than might have been thought. ‘We’re glad to get them back,’ he said. ‘I’m encouraged by the appetite they have to roll their sleeves up for the club. We’ve got this short sprint of a campaign where we need to make sure we get back into the Premiership. It’s important everybody mucks in.’